2025 Festival Schedule (in progress)
A Huge Congratulations to our winners for 2024 - Individual Champion, Black Chakra & Team Champions, Ghost Phantom!
(Check out our Past Champions page for a list of all the Finalists!)
All events, with the exception of Finals Stage on Saturday, March 22nd are free and anyone may participate in the workshops or open mics and readings, even if you are not a competing poet!
Wednesday, March 19:
- The Sound of Cicadas: Poetry Reading & Roundtable 6 to 8 pm
- The Albuquerque Museum, 2000 Mountain Rd NW
- Featuring New Mexico Poet Laureate Lauren Camp, Sara Daniele Rivera, Albuquerque Poet Laureate Emeritus Hakim Bellamy & Scott Wiggerman, Founder of Dos Gatoes Press.
- Early Bird Open Mic 8 pm to 10 pm
- Red Door Brewing (509 Central Ave SW)
Thursday, March 20:
Please Note: All poets may check in during Poet Orientation
- Poet Orientation 1 pm
- Main Library, 501 Copper Ave NW
- Attendence required for all competing poets. This is where we will provide swag bags, answer questions you may have and review what to expect the next 3 days.
- Main Library, 501 Copper Ave NW
- Trans & Non-Binary Open Mic 2:30 - 3:30 pm
- Main Library, 501 Copper Ave NW
- Hosted by Evris Oake
- Main Library, 501 Copper Ave NW
- Preliminary Bouts 1- 3 (Teams) 6 pm to 8 pm
- Bout 1: Red Door Brewing (509 Central Ave SW)
- Suicide Squad
- Route 666
- OC Poetry
- 509
- Bout 2: Damascio's Bar & Tapas (722 Central Ave SW)
- Spotlight Poetry
- Never More
- Mercury Slam
- Bull City Slam
- Bout 3: Ex Novo Brewing (701 Central Ave NW)
- Fountain City Slam
- Voices of the Barrio
- Ghost Poetry
- Can't Believe It's Not Berkeley!
- Bout 1: Red Door Brewing (509 Central Ave SW)
- Preliminary Bouts 4 - 6 (Indies) 8 pm to 10 pm
- Bout 4: Red Door Brewing (509 Central Ave SW)
- Joshua Wiss
- Penehuro Williams
- Breeze
- Jessica Parascandola]
- Zac Frater
- Mr. Aubs
- Johnny Osi
- Evris Oake
- Noir Jente
- Bout 5: Damascio's Bar & Tapas (722 Central Ave SW)
- Alex Schotten
- Emily Tucker
- Brennan DeFrisco
- Vanessa Verse
- Symbolik Knight
- Billy Tuggle
- Back Chakra
- TheeQueenShaa
- Bout 6: Ex Novo Brewing (701 Central Ave NW)
- Miss Zany
- Sacred Fantasy
- Antoinette Martine Torres
- LadyK
- Sammi Walker
- Khalil Houston
- JoeMac
- Demetri Manabat
- Bout 4: Red Door Brewing (509 Central Ave SW)
- Special Event 10:30 pm to 11:30 pm
- The Other Side of Tomorrow - Moody Black
- Red Door Brewing (509 Central Ave SW)
- The Other Side of Tomorrow - Moody Black
Friday, March 21:
- Side Events A-B 10 am to 11:15
- Workshop 1: Ambient Noise in a Narrative Poem - David Meischen
- Quirky Books (120 Jefferson St NE)
- Visible/Invisible Disabilities Open Mic - Hosted by Antoinette Martine Torres
- Ancora Cafe & Bakery (148 Quincy St NE )
- Workshop 1: Ambient Noise in a Narrative Poem - David Meischen
- Side Events C-D 11:30 am to 12:45 pm
- Workshop 2: Chaos as Craft - Brennan DeFrisco
- Quirky Books (120 Jefferson St NE)
- LGBTQ+ Open Mic - Hosted by Raina Jane
- Ancora Cafe & Bakery (148 Quincy St NE )
- Workshop 2: Chaos as Craft - Brennan DeFrisco
- Side Events E-F 1 pm to 2:15 pm
- Asian American-Pacific Islander Open Mic - Hosted by Keith Allen
- Ancora Cafe & Bakery (148 Quincy St NE )
- Workshop 3: Tell Me A Story - LeJuane (El'Ja) Bowens
- Quirky Books (120 Jefferson St NE)
- Asian American-Pacific Islander Open Mic - Hosted by Keith Allen
- Haiku Head 2 Head - Hosted by Ember Matthews 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm
- Guild Cinema (3405 Central Ave NE)
- Preliminary Bouts 7 - 9 (Indies) 6 pm to 8 pm
- Bout 7: Red Door Brewing (509 Central Ave SW)
- Antoinette Martine Torres
- Johnny Osi
- Penehuro Williams
- Jessica Parascandola
- TheeQueenShaa
- Sacred Fantasy
- Khalil Houston
- Symbolik Knight
- Bout 8: Damascio's Bar & Tapas (722 Central Ave SW)
- Miss Zany
- Brennan DeFrisco
- Black Chakra
- Mr. Aubs
- Emily Tucker
- Billy Tuggle
- Breeze
- Vanessa Verse
- Bout 9: Ex Novo Brewing (701 Central Ave NW)
- LadyK
- Joshua Wiss
- Evris Oake
- Sammi Walker
- Zac Frater
- Alex Schotten
- Demetri Manabat
- JoeMac
- Noir Jente
- Bout 7: Red Door Brewing (509 Central Ave SW)
- Preliminary Bouts 10 - 12 (Teams) 8 pm to 10 pm
- Bout 10: Red Door Brewing (509 Central Ave SW)
- Fountain City Slam
- Mercury Slam
- Voices of the Barrio
- Route 666
- Bout 11: Damascio's Bar & Tapas (722 Central Ave SW)
- Ghost Poetry
- Spotlight Poetry
- Suicide Squad
- I Can't Believe It's Not Berkeley!
- Bout 12: Ex Novo Brewing (701 Central Ave NW)
- 509
- Never More
- Bull City
- OC Poetry
- Bout 10: Red Door Brewing (509 Central Ave SW)
- Erotica Open Mic (& Burlesque Showcase) 10:30 pm to 1 am
- The Albuquerque Social Club, 4021 Central Ave NE)
- Hosted by Kristin Patton
- This is a 21+ event
- The Albuquerque Social Club, 4021 Central Ave NE)
Saturday, March 22:
- Book Market 10 am to 2 pm
- Ancora Cafe & Bakery (148 Quincy St NE )
- Side Events G-H 10 am to 11:15 pm
- Veteran's Open Mic - Hosted by Daniel Garwood
- Ancora Cafe & Bakery (148 Quincy St NE )
- Workshop 4: The Lyric Essay as Omen and Discovery - Deborah Taffa
- Quirky Books (120 Jefferson St NE)
- Veteran's Open Mic - Hosted by Daniel Garwood
- Side Events I-J 11:30 to 12:45 pm
- Latino/Latinx/Chicano/Chicanx Open Mic - Hosted by Manuel Gonzalez
- Ancora Cafe & Bakery (148 Quincy St NE )
- Workshop 5: Write to Resist - Billy Tuggle
- Quirky Books (120 Jefferson St NE)
- Latino/Latinx/Chicano/Chicanx Open Mic - Hosted by Manuel Gonzalez
- Side Events K-L 1 pm to 2:15 pm
- Black Poets Open Mic - Hosted by LadyK
- Ancora Cafe & Bakery (148 Quincy St NE )
- Indigenous Poets Open Mic - Hosted by
- Quirky Books (120 Jefferson St NE)
- Black Poets Open Mic - Hosted by LadyK
- Nerd Slam - Hosted by El'Ja 2:30 to 4:30 pm
- Michael Thomas Coffee Roasters, (202 Bryn Mawr Dr, SE)
- Finals Stage - Hosted by El'Ja Bowens 7 pm to 10 pm
- South Broadway Cultural Center, 1025 Broadway Blvd SE, Albuquerque, NM 87102
- Call time for Poets performing on Finals stage is 6 pm sharp
- South Broadway Cultural Center, 1025 Broadway Blvd SE, Albuquerque, NM 87102
- After Party 11 pm to 1 am
- Fuzzy Bunny, (515 Central Ave NW)
- This event will be upstairs, enter from the alley
- Fuzzy Bunny, (515 Central Ave NW)
Sunday, March 23:
- Breaking Bread Poet’s Picnic 12 pm to1:30 pm
- TBA
* The Underground Slam will be announced at orientation. Buy in is $50, winner takes all.
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